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SKETCH 



OF 



THE LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES 



OF 



Gen. lewis CASS. 



Lewis Cass was born at Exeter, in New Hamp- 
shire, on the 9th day of October, 1782. His father, 
Major Jonathan Cass, was a soldier of the Revo- 
Jution, who enlisted as a private the day after the 
battle of Lexington. He served in the army till 
the close of the war, and was in all the important 
battles in the Eastern and Middle States, where he 
was distinguished for his valor and good conduct, 
and attained the rank of captain. He was after- 
wards a major in Wayne's army, and died at an 
advanced age, after a life of usefulness and honor, 
at his residence, near Dresden, in Muskingum 
county, Ohio. His son, Lewis Cass, the subject of 
this biography, emigrated, at the a^e of seventeen, 
to the then Northwestern Territory, and settled first 
at Marietta, in the county of Washington. He 
was thus, as he was recently called by the conven- 
tion of Ohio, one of the " early pioneers" of that 
immense western region, which has already risen 
to such a magnitude in our own days, and is des- 
tined to attain one so much greater hereafter. The 
country north of the Ohio then contained one Ter- 
ritory and about twenty thousand people. 

Mr. Cass bore his full share in the toils, priva- 
tions, and dangers to which the defence of a new 
country, and its conversion from a primitive forest 
to the happy abodes of civilized man, are necessa- 
rily expo.sed. He read law at Marietta, and was 
admitted to the bar before the close of the Territo- 
rial Government. Hecommenced the practice, and, 
as was the custom then, visited the courts in a 
large district of country, travelling on horseback, 
and encountering many difficulties unknown to the 
members of the bar at the present day. 

In 1806, he was elected a member of the Legis- 
lature of Ohio, and during the session he took his 
part in the business of the day. He drafted the 
law which arrested the traitorous designs of Burr, 
and introduced an address to Mr. Jefferson, which 
was unanimously adopted, expressing the attach- 
ment of the people of Ohio to the Constitution of 
the United Slates, and their confidence in that illus- 
trious man. In March, 1807, he was appointed, 
by Mr. Jefferson, marshal of Ohio. In the exe- 
cution of the duties of that office, in the business 
of his profession, and in the occupation of a farm 
in Muskingum county, where he resided, he passed 



i his time until 1812. Th«n our difficulties with 
England assumed a portentous aspect. Her mul- 
j tiplied aggressions left us no recourse but war; and 
the statesmen of the day prepared for it with firm- 
, ness. As one of the preparatory arrangements, it 
j was determined to march a considerable force to 
the northwestern frontier, to be ready for offensive 
I or defensive measures, as circumstances might ren- 
I der it necessary. The command was' given to 
General Hull; and a regiment of regular troops, 
which had fought with credit at Tippecanoe, was 
assigned to him. To this were to be added three 
j regiments of Ohio volunteecs.. As soon as this 
' demand upon their patriotism was known, the citi- 
, zens of that State hastened to the call of their 
country, and the force was raised without delay 
or difficulty. Mr. Cass was among the volunteers, 
and was elected to the command of the third regi- 
ment. He proceeded immediately with his regi- 
ment to Dayton, where the army was concentrated, 
and whence it commenced its march for Detroit. 
I The country was a trackless forest, and much of 
I it was low and wet. Great difficulties were inter- 
1 posed to the advance of the troops by the streams 
I and marshes, and by the necessity of cutting a 
j road. But these were overcome with the usual 
good will and perseverance of the American sol- 
I diers. The army reached Detroit on the 4th of 
I July, 1812. 

i Official information that war would be declared, 
j overtook them in the wilderness; but the declara- 
tion itself was not received until they reached De- 
troit. Colonel Cass was perhaps more urgent for 
an invasion of Canada than any officer in Hull's 
army. He was decidedly in favor of making an 
earhj and decisive movement, before the British 
should be prepared for the invasion. We con- 
ceive it to be no disparagement to any one to say 
that he was the master-spiritof that army until the 
affair at the Canards; after which, it is known, he 
disapproved of every step taken by the command- 
ing general. There can now be no doubt that 
Hull's army never would have entered Canada but 
for the persuasions of Colonel Cass. So anxious 
was he to push forward and do something to meet 
the just expectations of the Administration and the 
country, that he commanded the advanced detach- 



ment, and was the first man to land in arms in the 
eneiny's country. , 

On the ]5th of July he was ordered to attack a 
British detachment stationed at the river Aux 
Canards, about fifteen miles from Detroit, and five 
miles from Fort Maiden, then the British head- 
quarters. He crossed the river some distance 
above the enemy 's post, and briskly attacked them ; 
v/hen, after some loss, they fled. Here was spilt 
the first blood during the last war. Colonel Cass 
took possession of the abandoned position, and 
immediately despatched a messenger to General 
Hull, informing him of his success, and advising 
him to march immediately to Fort Maiden — the 
road to which was opened. Had this been done, 
success must have crowned the operation, and the 
war, in that quarter, would have been over. He 
was, however, sadly disappointed by the indecis- 
ion of Hull, who ordered him to return and join 
the army. From this moment bad councils pre- 
vailed, the army lost all confidence in Hull, and 
he proceeded in his own course, regardless of the 
advice or remonstrance of his officers. It is well 
known to the country that both Colonel Cass and 
Colonel McArthur were detached from Detroit 
previous to the surrender, ostensibly for provis- 
ions, but, in fact, because they were unwelcome 
counsellors at headquarters. About three weeks 
after the aflTair at the Canards, the whole army was 
ordered across the river to Detroit; in which time, 
had Colonel Cass's advice been taken, Maiden 
might have been reduced, and a secure lodgment 
made in Upper Canada. The order of Hull to 
.a-eturn was not less unexpected to the army than 
was the disgraceful surrender at Detroit, without 
a shot being fired, overwhelming to the country. 

On entering Canada, General Hull distributed a 
proclamation among the inhabitants, which, for the 
eloquence and high spirit that it contained, cannot 
be surpassed; but it was sadly in contrast with the 
fulfillment of its professions. Unfortunately for 
the country, the author of the proclamation. Colo- 
nel Cass, was not the commander of the army. 
Had he been so, the country would have been 
Baved the mortification of beholding the descent 
from the promise to the fulfillment. As it was, he 
used every exertion to arouse in the commanding 
general that spirit of patriotism which breathes in 
every line of the admirable paper, but in vain. A 
spirit of infatuation, or something worse, seized 
upon Hull, and led him on, from one false step to 
another, until the crowning act, the surrender of 
Detroit, without firing a gun, completed his own 
ruin, and brought disgrace upon tlie arms of his 
■ country. 

After the surrender of Detroit, Colonel Cass re- 
paired to Washington, to report to the Government 
■the whole circumstances attending the expedition. 
He was exchanged during the wmter, and in the 
spring was appointed colonel of the twenty-seventh 
regiment of infantry. He proceeded immediately 
to raise the regiment; and, while doing so, was 
appointed a brigadier general in the army. Short- 
ly after, he joined General Harrison at Seneca, 
where the army was collecting, destined to recover 
the territory of Michigan, and to take possession 
of the western district of Upper Canada. The 
preparatory arrangements being completed, and 
the lake being open to the transportation of our 
Uoops by the victory of Perry, General Harrison 



commenced his movement in September, 1813, and 
embarked his troops at the mouth of Portage river, 
whence they moved, and were concentrated at Put 
in Bay. From here they sailed to the Western 
Sister, a small island off the coast of Canada, where, 
being all collected, the final arrangements were 
made. The debarkation was superintended and 
directed by General Cass, of the army, and Cap- 
tain Elliott, of the navy; and the troops landed in 
perfect order, expecting to meet a formidable re- 
sistance. But the enemy had fled, after destroy- 
ing the public buildings at Amherstburg and De- 
troit, and were in full retreat for Lake Ontario. 
The American army immediately commenced the 
pursuit, and after capturing two small detach- 
ments, which ofi"ered some resistance in favorable 
positions, overtook the enemy at the Moravian 
towns on the river Thames, about eighty miles 
from Detroit. The British general. Proctor, proved 
himself unequal to his command. Having some 
days the start, if he designed to escape, he should 
have pushed his retreat as rapidly as possible. 
But he moved slowly, encumbered with much un- 
necessary baggage, and finding the American army 
closing upon him, he prepared for battle. The 
grojind he chose was heavily covered with trees, 
and his left rested upon the river Thames, while 
his right extended into the v/oods, terminating in 
a marsh. This flank was occupied by the Indians, 
who it was intended should turn the American left 
wing and attain the rear. The army moved so 
rapidly that many of the troops were left behind, 
and a small portion only of General Cass's com- 
mand was in the battle; they were stationed im- 
mediately in front of the enemy's artillery, which 
commanded the road, with directions to charge 
upon it as soon as the action commenced. Gen- 
eral Cass volunteered his services, together with 
Commodore Perry, to assist General Harrison; and 
at the moment of the charge of Colonel Johnson's 
regiment, which decided the fate of the day. Gen- 
eral Cass took a position with the right wing of it, 
commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Johnson, and 
accompanied it in its charge upon the British line. 
It was a dangerous experiment to charge a line of 
disciplined British soldiers by undisciplined mount- 
ed Americans; but valor supplied the place of dis- 
cipline, and, notwithstanding the resistance, that 
brave regiment broke through the line, and instant- 
ly the enemy was thrown into confusion, and threw 
down their arms, happy to escape with their lives. 
The British general. Proctor, fled almost at the 
commencement of the action, and was pursued by 
General Cass, with a detachment, for some miles, 
but could not be overtaken. 

It is well known, that in this important battle, 
General Cass bore a prominent part, fully sharing 
in the exposure and dangers of the conflict. An 
eye-witness, writing some twelve years since, 



says : 

'' In the autumn of 1813, F well recollec't General Cass, of 
the Northwestern army, commanded by Harrison and Shelby. 
He was conspicuous at the landing of the troops upon the 
Canada shore lielow Maiden, on the 27th of September, and 
conspicuous at the battle of the Thames, as the volunteer 
aid of the commanding general. I saw him in the midst of 
the battle, in tlie deep woods upon the banks of the Thames, 
during the roar and clangor of fire-arms, and savage-yells of 
the enemy. Then I was a green youth of seventeen, and a 
volunteer from Kentucky -' 

General Harrison, in his report of the battle of 
the Thames, dated October 9, 1813, says: 



« I have already stated, that General Cass and Commodore 
Perry assisted me in forming the troops for the action. Tlic 
former is an officer of tlie highest promise, and the appear- 
ance of the hrave Commodore cheered and animated every 
Ijreast." 

The battle of the Thames terminated the North- 
western campaign, and put an end to the v/ar in 
that quarter, but not to the difficulties or import- 
ance of the command. The United States being 
once more in the possession of the Territory of 
Michigan, and of the Province of Upper Canada, 
General Cass was assigned, temporarily, the com- 
mand of the district, and General Harrison with- 
drew with his army. On the 9th of October, 1813, 
he was appointed by President Madison Governor 
of Michigan, at that time one of the most import- 
ant civil offices within the gift of the Executive. 
He was the civil as well as military Governor of 
a large Territory, having many hundred miles of 
exposed frontier, filled and almost surrounded with 
numerous tribes of hostile Indians, in the pay of 
the British Government, and constantly excited to 
acts of hostility by British agents. 

As a proof of the defenceless state of the coun- 
try, it may be mentioned, that incursions were 
made by the Indians, and some persons made pris- 
oners and others killed within sight of the town of 
Detroit, and three expeditions of mounted militia 
hastily collected, were led by Governor Cass in 
pursuit of the Indians, and some of them were 
killed within hearing of^the town. 

A single incident will show the nature of these 
excursions in the forests in pursuit of the Indians. 
General Cass's servant, who rode immediately in 
his rear, had a personal rencontre with an Indian 
who started from behind a tree, and having dis- 
charged his rifle, attacked him with the but-end, 
and was killed after a short conflict. 

But peace came to put an end to this state of 
things. The executive power of the Territory was 
almost unlimited, and the legislative power was in 
the hands of the Governor and judges until 1819. 
That Governor Cass performed well his highly 
important and delicate duties, the ichole body of the 
people of Michigan will bear us witness; and the 
fact of his having been seven times nominated by 
four successive Presidents, and seven times con- 
firmed by the Senate, without a single vote against 
him in that body, or a single representation against 
him from the people over whom he presided — a 
state of things unexampled in the history of our 
Territorial Governments — is a sufficient proof of 
the wisdom of his administration. 

In the discharge of his duties as Superintendent 
of Indian Affairs, Governor Cass was called upon 
to enter' into many negotiations with the Indian 
tribes, and often under circumstances of great peril 
and responsibility. He formed twenty-one treaties 
with them, and extinguished their tule to nearly 
one hundred millions of acres of land; a vast do- 
main acquired for the United States, but upon terms 
80 just and satisfactory to the Indians, that no 
complaint was ever made by them upon the sub- 
ject. 

There are two incidents connected with the for- 
mation of these treaties, which strongly illustrate 
Governor Cass's judgment and decision of char- 
acter. In the expedition of 1820, it became his 
duty to inform the Indians at Sault de St. Marie, 
of the intention of our Government to establish 



a military post there, and to fix upon the site for 
the same* The chief of the tribe was openly op- 
posed to the United States, and in the pay of the 
British Government. In consequence of this, they 
heard the intention of Governor Cass, with ap- 
parent ill-will, and broke up the councils, with 
the most hostile feeling. On returning to their en- 
campment, they removed their women and children 
into Canada; and having prepared themselves for 
battle, raised the British flag, as a token of defiance. 
Governor Cass had but a small detachment of 
soldiers with him. Unaccompanied, except by his 
interpreter, he advanced directly to the Indian en- 
campment, and, with his ow-n hands, pulled down 
the flag, and ordered (he interpreter to inform the 
Indians that " they were within the jurisdiction of 
the United States, and that no other flag than theirs 
could be permitted to wave over it." The moral 
influence of this bold act had the desired effect: 
the Indians returned the next day to the council, 
and the treaty was concluded, without any further 
threats or insults. On arriving at Green Bay, in 
1827, for the purpose of forming a treaty, Governor 
Cass found that the Winnebago Indians had not 
yet come in; and as the object of the treaty was 
to settle difficulties among some of the tribes, the 
non-appearance of the Winnebagoes was an evi- 
dence of their desire for war rather than peace. 
He immediately reembarked on board his birch 
canoe, for their camping ground, to prevent any 
hostilities, and to bring them to the treaty ground. 
He rapidly pursued his voyage up the Fox river, 
across the portage, and down the Wisconsin, to the 
place. of encampment. Taking with him only his 
interpreter, he went up to the encampment, where 
he found them in warlike mood, and determined not 
to treat. Threats and entreaties were alike una- 
vailing with this exasperated tribe. He left them, 
and returned to his canoe. As he turned to go to 
the river, a young warrior raised his gun, and ta- 
king deliberate aim at him, pulled the trigger; but, 
providentially, the gun missed fire. This is the 
only instance of violence ever offered to him du- 
ring the long period of his intercourse with the 
Indians. He proceeded immediately to Prairie du 
Chien, where he organized the inhabitants, and 
placed them in a condition of defence, and returned 
to the treaty ground. By his prompt and energetic 
movements he prevented extensive hostilities, the 
end of which no riian could know. 

In 1831, Gen. Cass w-as called by Gen. Jackson 
to take charge of the War Department, and his re- 
moval from Michigan Territory was marked by a 
universal expression of regret. His colleagues in 
the Cabinet were — Mr. Livingston, Mr. McLane, 
Mr. Woodbury, and Mr. Taney — men who pos- 
sessed the confidence of the President, and soon 
acquired that of the country. The characteristic 
traits of General Jackson's administration have 
now passed into history. It was bold, prompt, 
honest, and national. It sought no dangerous con- 
structive powers, and it endeavored carefully to 
exercise those of which it was the trustee, for the 
American Confederation. The great questions of 
the bank, of the removal of the deposits, of nulli- 
fication, of the French indemnity, and of the Creek 
and Cherokee difficulties — three of which involved 
delicate points connected with State rights — occu- 
pied its attention, and were all happily disposed of. 
Few, if any, now call in question the wisdom of 



General Jackson's course upon these important 
subjects, though it is difficult now to realize the 
intense anxiety they excited, and the mo'mentous 
consequences which huug upon their decision. So 
far as the War Department necessarily took any 
immediate course in these questions, it was prompt 
and energetic, and met with the approbation of the 
country. -At the portentous period_of nullification, 
the military orders were firm, but discreet, and it 
appeared by a message from the President, in 
answer to a call upon that subject, that no order 
had been at any lime given to " resist the constituted 
authorities of the State of South Carolina, within the 
chartered limits of said State. " The orders to Gen- 
eral Scott informed him, that, "should, unfortunate- 
' ly, a crisis arise, lUen the ordinary power in the 
' hands of the civil officers shoxdd not be sufficient for 
« the execution of the laics, the President would dcter- 
' mine the course to be taken, and the measures to be 
• adopted ; till then he icas prohibited from acting." 

The same caution marked the order to the troops 
when there seemed to be danger of a collision with 
the authorities of Alabama, arising out of occur- 
rences upon the lands of the United States in that 
State. In proof of this, we quote the following 
extract of a letter from the War Department, 
written by Governor Cass to Major Mcintosh, 
and dated October 29, 1833: 

"Sir: Your letter of the 21st instant to Major General 
Macomb has been laid before me ; and, in ansiver, I have to 
inform you that you will interpose no obstacle to the service 
of legal process upon any officer or soldier under your com- 
mand, whether issuing from the courts of the Stale of Ala- 
bama, or of the United States. On the contrary, you will 
give all necessary facilities to the execution of such process. 
It is not the intention of the President that any part of the 
military force of the Lfnited States should be brought into 
collision with the civil authority. In all questions of juris- 
diction, it is the duty of the foimer to submit to the latter, 
and no considerations must interfere with that duty. If, 
tliorefore, an officer of the State, or of the United States, 
come with legal process against yourself, or an ofiicer or 
soldier of your garrison, yo^u will freely admit liini within 
your post, and allow him to execute his writ undisturbed." 
In 1836, General Cass was appointed minister 
to France, and immediately resigned his post as 
Secretary of War. On retiring from the depart- 
ment, he received a letter from General Jackson 
expressing warm personal feelings towards him, 
and commending his whole official conduct. He 
sailed from New" York in the month of October. As 
diplomatic relations had not been fully reestablish- 
ed with France, he was directed to proceed to Eng- 
land, and there ascertain the views of the French 
Government. He found that a French minister 
had been appointed to this country, and he imme- 
diately repaired to Paris and took up his residence 
there. After his recognition, his first official duty 
was to procure the interest due upon the twenty- 
five millions of francs indemnity, which had been 
retained when the principal was paid. After some 
hesitation this was effected; and thus this great 
controversy, which at one time threatened such 
grave consequences, was happily closed. 

In 1837, General Cass made a tour to the East. 
He visited Italy, Sicily, Malta, Greece, the Islands 
of the Archipelago, Constantinople and the Black 
Sea, Egypt, Palestine and Syria. He was at Flor- 
ence, Rome, Palermo, Athens, Corinth, Eleusis, 
Salamis, and the battle-fields of Platrea, Leuctra, 
Cheronaia, and Marathon— at the plains of Troy, 
at Alexandria, Cairo and the Pyramids, at Jafl^a, 
Jerusalem, Bethlehem , the Dead Sea, Nazareth, 



the Sea of Tiberias, Tyre, Sidon, Baalbec, and Da- 
mascus. Memorable places these, and calculated 
to excite strong emotions in the iTiind of an Amer- 
ican who had passed a large portion of his life 
amid the toils and privations of a new country. 

After his return to Paris, General Cass resumed 
the duties of his mission, and continued in their 
regular execution till its termination. He was 
proverbial for his kindness and hospitality to his 
countrymen, none of whom were denied his atten- 
tions, and few of whom visited Paris without 
being invited to his house. His observations upon 
the Government and people of France were given 
to the public in the pages of the Democratic Re- 
view, in an article entitled " France, its King, 
Court, and Government," which most of our read- 
ers will probably recollect. Among other literary 
papers he published in this country, was one upon 
the French tribunals of justice, which contained 
much information interesting to an American, and 
in which the author. expressed his decided con- 
demnation of the system of the English common 
law, looking upon it as a code originating in feudal 
and almost semi-barbarous times, and utterly un- 
suited to our condition and institutions. This opin- 
ion is fast gaining ground, and we trust the time 
is rapidly approaching when this relic of feudal 
tyranny — this perfection of sense as it is called, but 
this perfection of nonsense as it in many cases is — 
will give way to reason ana justice. 

In 1841 arose the well-known question of the 
quintuple treaty, in which Genteral Cass acted a 
prominent and an efficient part. The British Gov- 
ernment, in its scheme of maritime superiority, 
which it never abandons, any more than its plans 
of territorial aggrandizement, projected a plan, by 
which, under the pretence of abolishing the slave- 
trade, her ships of war would have been enabled 
to search and examine, and ultimately to seize, 
the vessels of other nations at their pleasure. This 
plan was to form a treaty, to which the five great 
Powers of Europe should be parties, by which 
means a new principle in the law of nations 
would be established, and our flag, among others, 
prostrated at the feet of England. Tliis treaty 
was negotiated and actually signed by the minis- 
ters of the five Powers — those of England, France, 
Russia, Prussia, and Austria — before the nature 
of the transaction was fully understood by the 
world. It became disclosed before the ratifica- 
tions were exchanged with the French Govern- 
ment. General Cass published a pamphlet which 
entered deeply into the whole matter, and which 
was translated into French and German, and ex- 
tensively circulated upon the continent. It awak- 
ened the public attention, and created a great seii- 
sation even in England. The London Times, in 
announcing it, said: 

" It is a shrewd performance, written with some spirit, 
much bold assertion of facts, and a very audacious unfair- 
ness of ar^'ument. which is rather amusinz, when contrasted 
with a certain toiie of gentlemanly candor, which is occa- 
sionally adopted even in the very act of performing some of 
his most glaring perversions." 

In addition also to the pamphlet, he presented a 
protest to the French Government against the rati- 
fication of the treaty. In doing this, he stated that 
he had no instructions to pursue such a course, and 

adds — , . , 

" 1 have presumed, in the views I have submitted to you, 
[M. Guizot, the French Minister of Foreign Affairs,] that I 



' express the feelings of the American Government and people. 

^ If in this I have deceived myself, the responsibility will be 
mine. As soon as I can receive despatches from the United 
States, in answer to my communicaliuns, I shall be enabled 
to declare to you either that my conduct has been approved 
by the President, or that my mission is terminated." 

But he did not deceive himself. His course was 
warmly applauded by tV American people, who 
are ever alive to national interest and honor, and 
coldly approved by the Government. 

The following short extract will exhibit the spirit 
which pervaded this memorable paper: 

" But the subject assumes another aspect, when they (the 
American people) are told by one of the parties that their 
vessels are to be forcibly entered and examined, in order to 
carry into eflfect these stipulations. Cert.iin!y the American 
Government does not believe that the hiiih Powers, con- 
tracting parties to this treaty, have any wish to compel the 
United States, by force, to adapt Ihsir measures to its pro- 
visions, or to adopt its stipulations. They have too much 
confidence in their sense of justice to fear any such result ; 
■ and they will see with pleasure the prompt disavowal made 
by yourself, sir, in the name of your country, at the tribune 
of the Chamber of Deputies, of any intentions of this nature. 
But were it otherwise, and were it possible they might be 
deceived in this contident expectation, that would not alter 
in one tittle their course of action. Their duty would be 
the same, and the same would be their determination to 
fulfill it. Thev would prepare themselves, with apprehen- 
. sion indeed, but without dismay— with regret, but with 
firmness— for one of those desperate struggles which have 
sometimes occurred in the history of the world, but where a 
Just cause and the favor of Providence have given strength 
to comparative weakness, and enabled it to break down the 
pride of power." 

The success of this scheme, so long cherished, 
and so long projected on the part of England, turned 
upon the ratification of France. With it she could 
hope to establish this new principle in maritime 
, law, and with that attain her daring object of mar- 
itime supremacy. But the opposition of two such 
commercial nations as the United States and France 
to this interpolation would have rendered hopeless 
its general recognition. Hence her efforts to ac- 
complish this measure; and as, for more than half 
a century, she had not failed in any great object of 
her policy, her pride and interest were equally 
united in this. Her journals, therefore, were filled 
with the subject. It occupied the attention of her 
Government, her people, and her press; and her 
diplomatic agents through Europe were active and 
persevering. While the subject was under dis- 
cussion in the French Chamber of Deputies, the 
eyes of Europe were directed to Paris, anxiously 
watching the result. That result was soon mani- 
fested. The public opinion of France spoke too 
loudly to be resisted. The Government gave way, 
and refused to ratify a treaty, negotiated under its 
own directions, and signed by its own Minister. 
The part which General Cass bore in this transac- 
tion is well understood and appreciated by his 
countrymen; and,if any doubt existed on the sub- 
ject, it would have been removed by the abuse 
heaped upon him in the English journals, and by 
the declaration of Lord Palmerston, in the House 
of Commons, that his efforts contributed in a great 
degree to the rejection of the measure. 

An American writing from Europe, in Niles's 
Register, March, 1842, says: 

" General Cass has hastily prepared a pamphlet setting 
forth the true import and dangers of this treaty. It will be 
read by every statesman in Europe ; and, added to the Gen- 
eral's personal influence here, will effectually turn the tables 
on England. The country owes the General much for his 
effectual influence with tliis Government." 



The London Times, of January 5, 1842, says: 

" The five Powers, which signed the late treaty, for the 
suppression of the slave trade, will not allow tlieniselves to 
be thwarted in the execution of this arrangement by the 
capricious resistance of Uie cabinet of Washington." 

It is not a little curious, in reading over the pa- 
pers relating to this transaction, to see how some 
of the party journals of the day in the United States 
censured the minister for his interference in foreiga 
concerns; and foretold, very confidently, that he 
would be rebuked by the French Government. 
And the London Times, of May 16, 1842, states, 
with apparent exultation, that the venerable patriot, 
who has just been called from among us, (Mr. 
Adams,) said in Congress, that he regretted Gene- 
ral Cass 

" Should have so completely forgotten the wholesome 
rules of the founders of his country, as to interfere, without 
instructions from his Government, in a delicate negotiation 
between the great Powers of Europe." 

This " delicate negotiation" directly involved 
one of the most precious rights of the United States 
— that of sailing the ocean undisturbed and in 
peace. To prevent the consummation of such a 
project, was not to interfere with other nations, but 
to prevent other nations from interfering with us. 
As to the French Government, it took no such 
view of the matter. The answer of M. Guizot to 
General Cass, was in a very good spirit, and ex- 
hibited the best feeling to the United States. He 
stated that the treaty had not been ratified, and 
disavowed all designs of doing anything whatever 
unfriendly to the United States. 

On the 17th of September following this trans- 
action, the news of the ratification of the Ashbur- 
ton treaty reached Paris, and Governor Cass imme- 
diately resigned. His reasons for so doing we 
gather from the following extracts of letters to Mr. 
Webster: 

"It is unnecessary to push these considerations further; 
and in carrying them thus far, I have found the task an un- 
pleasant one. Nothing but justice to myself could have in- 
duced me to do it. I could not clearly explain my position 
here without recapitulation. My protest of 13lh February, 
distinctly asserted that the United States would resist the 
pretension of England to search our vessels. I avowed, at 
the same time, that this was but my personal declaration, 
liable to be confirmed or disavowed by my Government. I 
now find a treaty has been concluded between Great Britain 
and the United States, which provides for the cooperation 
of the latter in efforts to abolish the slave trade, but which 
contains no renunciation by the former of the extraordinary 
pretension, resulting, as she said, from the exigencies of these 
very eft'orts ; and which pretension I felt it my duty to de- 
nounce to the French Government. In all this, I presume 
to offer no further judgment than as I am personally affect- 
ed by the course of the proceedings , and 1 feel they have 
placed me in a false position, whence I can escape but by 
returning home with the least possible delay. I trust, there- 
fore, that the President will have felt no \iesitatiOD in grant- 
ing me the permission which I asked for." 

In December, 1842, General Cass returned to the 
United States. He was received by the citizens of 
Boston and New York with every demonstration 
of respect. His bold stand on the quintuple treaty 
had excited the feelings of the people in his favor, 
and he was everywhere hailed as the champion of 
the freedom of the seas and the rights of American 
citizens. At New York he was addressed upon 
political subjects, to which he furnished a brief re- 
ply, stating his unshaken attachment to the princi- 
ples of the Democratic party, and his hostility to a 
national bank. On his route to the West, he was 
received at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and Colum- 



6 



bus, Ohio, by the Governors and Legislatures of 
those States, who came out to meet him, and es- 
corted him to their towns. At Detroit, the Gov- 
ernor, Legislature, city authorities, and people came 
out to welcome him home, as children welcome the 
return of a long absent father. On the 8th of Janu- 
ary he was addressed by a committee of the Dem- 
ocratic State Convention of Indiana, upon political 
questions, to which he replied at length, declaring 
himself against a national bank, opposed to the 
distribution of the proceeds of the public lands, 
opposed to a tariff for protection, "that the rev- 
enue should be kept to the lowest point compatible 
with the performance of its constitutional func- 
tions," and opposed to altering the Constitution 
by abolishing the Executive veto; that he should 
not be a candidate for the Presidency unless nomi- 
nated at the "Baltimore Convention, and that he 
would support the nominee of that Convention. 

On the 4th of July, 1843, General Cass delivered 
an oration at Fort VVayne, Indiana, on the com- 
pletion of the Wabash and Erie canal. In this 
oration, while contrasting the condition and pros- 
pects of this country with the nations of the Old 
World, he says: 

" I have stood upon the plain of Marathon, the hattle-field 
of liberty. It is silent and desolate. Neither Greek nor 
Persian is there to give life and animation to the scene. It 
is bounded by sterile hills on one side, and lashed by the 
eternal waves of the Egean sea on the other. But Greek and 
Persian were once there, and that decayed spot was alive 
with hostile armies, who fought the great fight which rescued 
Greece from the yoke of Persia. And I have stood upon the 
liift of Zion, the city of Jerusalem, the scene of our Redeem- 
er's sutferings and ciucifixion and ascension. But the 
sceptre has departed from Judah, and its glory from the cap- 
itol of Solomon. The Assyrian, the Egyptian, the Greek, 
tlie Roman, the Arab, the Turk, and the Crusaders have 
passed over this chief place of Israel and have reft it of its 
power and beauty, lii those regions of the East where so- 
ciety passed its infancy, it seems to have reached decrepi- 
tude. If the associations which the memory of their p.ist 
glory e.vcites are powerful, they are melanclioly. They are 
without gratification for the present, and without hope for 
the future. But here we are in the freshness of youth, and 
can look forward with rational confidence to ages of progress 
in all that gives power and pride to man, and dignity to hu- 
man nature. It is better to look forward to prosperity than 
back to glory." 

In the spring of 1844, General Cass, in reply to 
interrogatories upon that subject, wrote a letter, 
declaring himself in favor of the annexation of 
Texas. 

In the month of May, following, the Democratic 
National Convention met at Baltimore, to nominate 
candidates for President and Vice President. On 
the first balloting. General Cass received eighty- 
three votes, and continued to rise till, on the sev- 
enth, he received one hundred and twenty-three 
votes. Had another ballot been taken that day. 
General Cass would, without doubt, have been 
nominated. Before the assembling of the Conven- 
tion on the following day, Mr. Polk was brought 
forward as a compromise candidate, and, after two 
ba,llotings, received the nomination. 

On the day that the news of the nomination of 
Mr. Polk reached Detroit, a meeting of the De- 
mocracy was held, at which General Cass, in an 
able and eloquent speech, gave his warmest sup- 
port to the nomination, and declared his readiness 
to enter the contest to secure its success. In pur- 
suance of this, he accepted the invitation of the 
Nashville Committee, and was present at the great 
Nashville Convention in August. His arrival was 



announced by the firing of cannon, and he was 
received with every demonstration of popular en- 
thusiasm. Of his speech there, a leading paper 
says: 

" We did not attempt a sketch of the eloquent and pow- 
erful speech that was made by General Cass, for we felt that 
nothing short of its publication entire, word for word and 
sentence for sentence, as he uttered ittn admiring thousands, 
would do him a full measure of justice. It was the master 
effort of a great statesman ; and the popular thunders of 
applause with which it was received by the fifty acres of 
fieemen in attendance rung through the valleys and rever- 
berated from hill to hill, exceeding anything that we had 
ever lieard before." 

General Cass spent some time with General 
Jackson at the Hermitage. When they parted, 
the scene was most impressive and affecting. An 
eye-witness remarks, "The tears of the veterans 
were mingled together as tliey bade each other a 
last farewell." 

In compliance with the popular demand, Gen- 
eral Cass took the tour of the States of Ohio, In- 
diana, and Michigan. He everywhere met with 
the most enthusiastic reception from the people. 
He was hailed as the Father of the West. But 
a great change had been effected since first he came 
among them. The lofty forests which he then 
traversed were now fruitful fields; the lonely cabins 
which he protected from the firebrand of the sav- 
age, were transformed into populous cities; the 
Indian war-path was converted into the railroad; 
the harbors upon the lakes and rivers which he first 
surveyed, were now the seats of commerce and 
of wealth; and the scattered population which he 
governed were now a great people. The crowds 
which attended his progress through those States 
seemed rather the triumphal procession of a con- 
queror than the peaceful attendants of a private 
citizen. 

The following incidents at the public meeting at 
Norwalk, Ohio, on the 17th of September, are 
taken from the Democratic newspaper published 
at that place: 

" While a number of revolutionary soldiers were being 
introduced to General Cass, one of our citizens approached 
the General, and asked if he remembered him. Upon reply- 
ing that he did not, he gave the followin;; account of their 
first meeting : ' In the springof 1813, Fort Meigs was beseiged 
' by the British and Indians, and the militia of Ohio were 
' called out to niarcli to the relief of the fort. General Cass 
' was appointed to the command. Six thousand assembled 
' at Uppsr Sandusky, of whom t«o thousand were selected 
' to proceed on to the fort. The marshes and woods were 
' filled with water, miking the roads almost impassable. The 
' commanding general had not yet arrived, but was daily ex- 
' pected. On the second day of the march, a young soldier, 
' from exposure to the weather, was taken sick. Unable to 
' march in tlie ranks, he followed along in the rear. When 
' at a distance behind, attempting with difficulty to keep pace 
' with his comrades, two officers rode along, one a stranger, 
< and the other the colonel of his regiment. On passing him, 
' the Colonel remarked, "General, that poor fellow there is 
' sick ; he is a good fellow though, for he refuses to go back ; 
' bull fear that the Indians will scalp him, or the crows pick 
' him, before we get to Fort Meigs." The officer halted, 
' and dismounted from his horse. When the young soldier 
' came up, he addressed him : " My brave boy, your are sick 
' and tired, I am well and strong; mount my horse and ride." 
' The soldier hesitated. "Do not wait," said the officer; 
' and, lifting him upon his horse, with directions to ride at 
' night to the Gem^ral's tent, he proceeded on foot to join the 
' army. At night, the young soldier rode to the tent, where 
' he was met by the generafwith a cheerful welcome, which 
' he repaid with tears of gratitude. That officer was General 
' Cass, and the young soldier was the person addressing 
' him, our worthy fellow-citizen, John Laylin.' The General, 
remembering the circumstance, immediately recognized him. 
Mr. Laylin remarked, ' Gtneral, that act was not done for 



• the world to look upon ; it was done in the woods, with but 
' three to witness it.' 

"Another: Our old friend Major Parks, on being intro- 
duced to General Cass, exclaimed, with much animation, 
' General, I thank God that I am able to see you ! 1 fought 
' by the side of your father, Jonathan Cass, and your uncle, 
' Daniel Cass, at the battle of Bunker's Hill. Your father 
' was sergeant of the company, and I was a corporal. We 
' were brothers together during the war. God bless you, 
< General, for his sake.' The General was deeply affected 
in meeting the friend and companion of his father; while 
the old veteran, with eyes sparkling, recounted the scenes 
tlirough which they passed together in the days of danger 
and strife— the times that ' tried men's souls.' " 

Another anecdote of General Cass, while on his 
tour through Ohio, wa.? related, with much spirit, 
by the late gallant and lamented General Hamer. 
The carriage containing General Cass was one day 
stopped by a man who, addressing the General, 
said: "I can't let you pass without speaking to 
you. You don't know me. General." General C. 
replied that he did not. "Well, sir, (said he,) I 
was the first man in your regiment to jump out of 
the boat on the Canadian shore." " No, you were 
not, (said General Cass;) I was the first man my- 
self on shore. " " True, (said the other;) I jumped 
out first into the river, to get ahead of you ; but you 
held me back, and got on shore ahead of me." 

The result of the contest in 1844 is well known. 
The vote of every western State, save one, and 
that by a meagre majority, was given for Mr. 
Polk. To the efforts of General Cass, and his great 
personal popularity exerted in favor of Mr. Polk, 
much of this is to be attributed. In the following 
winter. General Cass was elected to the Senate of 
the United States, and took his seat on the 4th of 
March, 1845. In the formation of the committees 
of the Senate, General Cass was unanimously ten- 
dered the post of Chairman of the Committee on 
Foreign Affairs, which, however, he declined. On 
two subsequent occasions, the same position has 
been offered him, but he has uniformly declined it. 

In December, 1845, General Cass introduced res- 
olutions in the Senate relative to the national de- 
fences, with parficular reference to the condition of 
our affairs with Great Britain, growing out of the 
Oregon question. These resolutions he supported 
in a speech, of which the following is an extract, 
referrmg to the course which should be pursued 
in maintaining our rights to the territory in ques- 
tion : 

"As to receding, it is neither to be discussed nor thought 
of. I refer to it but to denounce it— a denunciation which 
will find a response in every American bosom. Nothing is 
ever gained by national pusillanimity. And the country 
wliich seeks to purchase temporary security by yielding to 
unjust pretensions, buys present ease at the expense of per- 
manent honor and safety. It sows the wind to reap the 
whirlwind. I have said elsewhere, what I will repeat here, 
that it is better to fight for the first inch of national territory 
than for the last. It is better to defend the door-sill than 
the hearth-stone — the porch than the altar. National char- 
acter is a richer treasure than gold or silver, and exercises a 
moral influence in the hour oi' danger which, if not power 
itself, is its surest ally. Thus far, ours is untarnished ; and 
let us all join, however separated by party or by space, so to 
preserve it." 

In the month of March following, General Cass 
delivered his celebrated speech on the Oregon ques- 
tion. As this speech has been circulated and read 
very generally, a mere allusion to it here is all that 
would appear necessary; but the following extract 
expresses so fully the sentiment of every patriotic 
American that it is worthy of record: 

■'It pains me, sir, to hear allusions to the destruction of 
this Government, and to tlie dissolution of tliis Confederacy. 



It pains me, not because they inspire me with any fear, but 
because we ought to have one unpronounceable word, as the 
Jews had of old, and that word is Lissohdion. We should 
reject the feeling from our hearts and its name from our 
tongues. This cry of" Wo, uo, to Jerusalem," grates harshly 
upon my ears. Our Jerusalem is neither beleaguered nor in 
danger. It is yet the city upon a hill, glorious in what it is, 
still more glorious, by the blessing of God, in what it is to 
be— a landn)arU, inviting the nations of the world, struggling 
upon the stormy ocean of political oppression, to follow us 
to a haven of safety and of rational liberty. No English Titus 
will enter our temple of freedom through a breach in the 
battlements, to bear thence the ark of our Constitution and 
the book of our law, to take their stations in a triumphal 
procession in the streets of a modern Rome, as trophies of 
conquest and proofs of submission. 

" Many a raven has croaked in my day, but the augury has 
failed, and the republic has marched onward. Many a crisis 
has presented itself to the imagination of our political Cas- 
sandras, hut we have still increased in political prosperity as 
we have increased in years, and tliat, too, with an accele- 
rated progress unknown to the history of the world. We 
have a class of men whose eyes are always upon the future, 
overlooking the blessings around us, and forever apprehen- 
sive of some great pqjitical evil, which is to arrest our course 
somewhere or other on this side of the millenium. To them 
we are the image of gold, and silver, and brass, and clay, con- 
trariety in unity, which the first rude blow of misfortune is 
to strike from its pedestal. 

" For my own part, I consider this the strongest Govern- 
ment on the face of the earth for good, and the weakest for 
evil. Strong, because supported by the public opinion of 
a people inferior to none of the communities of the earth 
in all that constitutes moral worth and useful knowledge, 
and who have breathed into their political system the breath 
of life; and who would destroy it, as they created it, if it 
were iniworthyof tliem, or failed lo fulfill their just expect- 
ations. 

"And weak for evil, from this very consideration, which 
would make its follies and its faults the signal of its over- 
throw. It is the only Governmi'ut in existence which no 
revolution can subvert. It may be changed, but it provides 
for its own change, when the public will requires. Plots 
and insurrecticms, and the various struggles, by which an 
oppressed population manifests its sufferings and seeks the 
recovery of^ its rights, have no place here. We have nothing 
to fear but ourselves. 

The part taken by General Cass in the subse- 
quent exciting controversy on this question, and 
his vote in opposition to the treaty, are too well 
known to require further notice. Having been 
trained in the school which taught him, in our in- 
tercourse with foreign nations, to ask for nothing 
but what is right and to submit to nothing that is 
wrong, he had the moral courage to stand up for 
the right, whatever might be the consequences. 

During this session of Congress hostilities com- 
menced between the United States and Mexico. 
General Cass advocated the most energetic meas- 
ures for a vigorous prosecution of the war, and for 
carrying it into the heart of the enemy's country. 

In the winter of 1847, the " Wilmot Proviso " 
was introduced into the Senate, as an amendment 
to the three-million bill, by a Federal Senator from 
New England. The design of the mover was evi- 
dently to defeat the passage of the bill, to which it 
was to be attached, and to embarrass the Adminis- 
tration in the prosecution of the war. General Cass 
voted against the proviso, for reasons given in his 
speech on the occasion. 

It was during the sessions of this Congress that 
the tariff of 1846, and the independent treasury, 
were established. It is not alone to the exclusive 
champion of free trade, and the ultra advocate of a 
hard-money currency, that the opponents of pro- 
tection and the enemies of a paper currency are to 
look for the defeat of those measures. Such men 
are usually in the pursuit of some theoretical ab- 
straction, which gives them but little influence with 



8 



practical men. But it is to men of enlarged and 
liberal views, whose strength of character and in- 
fluence carry conviction with their action, that the 
country is indebted for radical and beneficial re- 
forms. General Cass gave to these great measures 
the weight of his influence and his zealous and un- 
flinching support. At the close of that Congress 
General Cass was invited, by the Democratic mem- 
bers of the Legislature of New York, to partake of 
a public dinner at Albany, as a mark of their ap- 
preciation of his brilliant public services and their 
estimation of his character as a man. This honor, 
however, he declined. 

In August, following, he delivered an address 
before the literary societies of Dartmouth College, 
New Hampshire, at the annual commencement of 
that institution. The societies afterward prepared 
an elegant gold -headed cane, with appropriate de- 
vices, which was presented to him in Washington, 
on the 4ih of March, 1848. 

On the meeting of the present Congress General 
Cass was elected chairman of the Committee on 
Military Affairs — a post for which he was most 
eminently qualified, and which, as he had been 
unanimously selected, he considered it his duty to 
accept. His course as chairman of that committee, 
and his views upon the war question, have been 
seen in the daily proceedings of the Senate. The 
following brief reply, to Mr. Mangum, is prob- 
ably as good a summary of his opinions as can be 
given: 

" Now, With respect to the progress ef the war, it is said 
that General Scott is going on from town to town, and from 
city to city, conquering all before him. I ain very glad to 
hear it. 1 Impe that the commanding general will continue 
10 go on in this way. If he does so, I have no doubt he will 
conquer Mexican obstinacy, and thus conquer a peace. I 
have already expressed my opinions with regard to the war 
in Mexico, and have nothing to say on the subject now, ex- ' 
cept to tell the Senator from North Carolina, what I had the 
honor to say to the Senator from South Carolina, that tlic 
adoption of any resolutions in this Senate with regard to any 
danger— if danger there be— in the progress of this war, 
would be but as the idle wind. You. might as well stand 
by the cataract of Niagara, and say to its waters "flow 
not," as to the American people "annex not territory," if 
they choose to annex it. It is the refusal of the Mexican 
people to do us justice that prolongs this war. It is that 
which operates on the public mind, and leads the Senator 
from North Carolina to apprehend a state of things which he 
fears, hut wliioh, for myself, I do not .inticipate. Let me , 
say, Mr. President, that it takes a great deal to kill thiscoun- 1 
try. We have had an alarming crisis almost every year 
as long as I can recollect. I came on the public stage as 
a spectator before Mr. Jeft'erson was elected. That was a i 
crisis. Tlien came the embargo crisis— the crisis of the non- 
intercourse— of the war— of the bank— of the tariff— of the 
removal of the deposites— and a score of others. But we 
have outlived them all, and advanced in all the elements of 
power and prosperity with a rapidity heretofore unknown 
in the history of nations. If we should swallow Mexico to- 
morrow, I do not believe it would kill us. Tiie Senator from 
North Carolina and myself may not live to see it, but I am 
by no means satisfied that the day will not come in which 
the whole of the vast country around us will form one of the 
most magnificent empires that the world has yet seen— glo- 
rious iu its prosperity, and still more glorious in the estab- 

Washinxton, March, 1848. 



lishment and perpetuation of the principles of free govern- 
ment and the blessings which they bring with them." 

In December, 1847, General Cass gave his views 
at length upon the " VVilmot Proviso," in a letter 
to Mr. Nicholson, of Tennessee. In that letter 
he avowed himself opposed to the measure, and 
to the exercise of any legislation by Congress, 
over any of the territories of the United States, re- 
specting the domestic relations of their inhabit- 
ants. He believed that all questions of that nature 
should be settled by the people themselves, who 
ought to be allowed " to regulate their internal 
concerns in their own way," and that Congress 
has no more power to abolish or establish slavery 
in such territories than it has to regulate any other 
of the relative duties of social life — that of husband 
and wife, of parent and child, or of master andfj 
servant. He said, in conclusion: > , 

" The ' Wilmot Proviso' seeks to take from its legitimatiO 
tribunal a question of domestic policy, having no relation to 
the Union, as such, and lo transfer it to anottier, created by 
the people for a special purpose, and foreign to the subject- 
matter involved in this issue. By going back to our true ; 
principles, we go back to the road of peace and safety. 
Leave to the people, who will be affected by this question, 
to adjust it upon their own responsibility and in their own 
manner, and we shall render another tribute to the original 
principles of our Government, and furnish another guarantee 
for its permanence and prosperity." 

TJ\e Democratic State Convention of Ohio, on 
the 8th of January, 1848, declared in favor of Gen- 
eral Cass for the Presidency, with a unanimity 
unequalled in the previous history of the State. 
Although there was much difference of opinion in 
the selection of a candidate for Governor, yet the 
popular sentiment in favor of General Cass, and 
the conviction that with him as the candidate their 
State could be placed among the foremost of the 
Democratic States of the Union, induced an almost 
unanimous expression in his favor. (At the last 
election in the State of Ohio, the popular vote was 
Democratic by a majority of 1,563.) The State 
Convention of Michigan has also unanimously 
placed him in nomination for the Presidency. In 
the Democratic State Convention of Pennsylvania, 
held at Harrisburg, on the 4th of March, 1848, a 
resolution, in the highest degree complimentary to 
General Cass, was unanimously reported by the 
committee, and adopted with acclamation by the 
convention. 

It is not necessary to refer to the numerous pub- 
lic demonstrations and the leading journals which 
have given expressions in his favor in New Eng- 
land, the Middle States, the West, and the South. 
Public opinion, looking to his brilliant services, 
sterling integrity, and unflinching fidelity, has 
pointed to him as the man for the times, and 
the proper exponent of the American Democracy. 
Plain and unassuming in his manners, kind and 
generous to a fault, frank and social in his inter- 
course with his fellow-men, he is, in every sense of 
the word, a Democrat. 



Printed at the Congressional Globe Office, Jackson Hall, Washington, D. C. 






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